


Braids & Blooms

by drowned_in_books



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Alyss Mainwaring & Halt O'Carrick - Freeform, Brother-Sister Relationships, Cassandra | Evanlyn & Halt O'Carrick - Freeform, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Flowers, Fluff, Gen, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Hair Braiding, Halt Acting As Will's Parental Figure, Halt drinks his respect women juice, It's just a fluffy time all round, Language of Flowers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Uncle-Niece Relationship, a little bit of, really father-daughter-in-law but shhhh, supportive romantic relatonships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23607703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drowned_in_books/pseuds/drowned_in_books
Summary: A fluffy, heartwarming mess about 5 times Halt braided someone's hair.
Relationships: Caitlyn O'Carrick & Halt O'Carrick, Halt O'Carrick & Original Character(s), Pauline duLacy/Halt O'Carrick, Will Treaty/Alyss Mainwaring
Comments: 20
Kudos: 45





	Braids & Blooms

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theravenlyn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theravenlyn/gifts).



> Inspired by some art/headcanons from @theravenlyn-art on tumblr. They're cool and nice and you should go tell them so.

Dawn hadn’t broken when Halt rolled out of his bed and headed to the stables. Quietly saddling up in the grey predawn light, he rode out of Dun Kilty and down towards the woods to the east. The soft quiet of the early morning had always appealed to him – away from the hustle and bustle of the castle’s many servants, his parents’ arguments, and the intolerable rounds of bowing and scraping from an endless stream of nobles and dignitaries, he could finally hear his own thoughts. The woods, the soft dew on the grass, the slow lightening of the eastern sky, and the first rays of sunlight were his refuge against all he disliked about being in Dun Kilty. Today, however, was no pleasure ride. It was Caitlyn’s birthday, and so Halt was riding into the woods to a spot only he knew to bring back a special gift for her.

Just after the sun rose completely from the horizon, he turned off the well-trod road he had been traveling on into the wilds of the woods. Another few minutes and he rode into a small clearing, at the edge of which was a graceful tree covered in brilliantly white flowers.

A blackthorn.

Carefully – to avoid getting scratched by the many thorns – he collected several boughs of the sweet-smelling and pristinely white flowers and gently placed them in a basket. He glanced up at the sun, which was just barely beginning to rise fully from the treetops of the clearing. If he wanted to get home before Caitlyn woke up, he’d need to hurry. Remounting, he trotted back to the road, carrying the basket of flowers carefully in his arms.

As he rode home, Halt thought about Caitlyn’s recent obsession with wildflowers. She said they brought life to a place in a way cultivated flowers didn’t. He couldn’t disagree – her rooms in Dun Kilty, with every table and windowsill bedecked with some brightly colored blooms, felt much more _alive_ than anywhere else in the castle. His rooms, for example, felt cold and barren, even though they were filled with lush fabrics and all the expensive trappings of a crown prince’s apartments. Her favorite flower were blackthorns – she loved the sweet smell, the delicate white color, and how they looked braided into her hair. Slipping into the stables, he handed the horse off to the hostler, who stayed silent but obviously was surprised to see him at this early hour, in riding clothes, carrying a basket of pure white flowers.

Across the hall, up the stairs, through the corridor and finally to the door of Caitlyn’s rooms. This early in the morning, it was unlikely she’d be up, so if he was quiet, he could pull off his plan. Slowly, slowly, slowly, he opened the door to her rooms, praying that it wouldn’t creak loudly and wake her up. Caitlyn’s two maids were awake though, quietly doing the business of the morning – setting the fire, taking old flowers out and replacing them with fresh, and tidying the pretty sitting room. The brunette one – Halt thinks her name is Ciara – spied the stealthily opening door and gasped in surprise, but Halt quickly slipped through with a finger to his lips and a grin on his face, holding out the basket of blackthorn flowers. “For Caitlyn’s birthday,” he whispered, and the maids smiled broadly.

Ciara, who had been replacing the old flowers, reached out for the basket with a smile and whispered, “Let’s take a look at that, aye, there should be enough for a bough in each vase milady has and some leftover for her hair! What a kind thought for your sister on her birthday, Your Highness!”

Halt gave her the basket and set to work helping her cut and place the boughs in Caitlyn’s many vases. He was especially proud of the double sprays he placed on either side of the fireplace mantle – in his opinion, they looked quite nice. As he stood admiring his handiwork, the door to his sister’s bedchamber slowly opened. Halt felt a surge of affection for her, standing there groggily with sleep-mussed hair, barefoot, in a pale-yellow nightgown with a dressing robe hastily thrown over it. Striding over to his little sister, he wrapped her up in a hug and pressed a soft kiss to her temple, whispering “Good morning, Caitlyn, happy birthday.”

She wrapped her arms around him, smiled, and laid her head on his chest. “Mornin’ Halt,” she yawned.

“I went out to the forest this morning, and I brought you some blackthorn flowers.”

“This morning? But it’s not even breakfast-time! And I know there aren’t any blackthorn trees at all within a few miles of the castle, you must have been up hours and hours before the sun rose!”

Halt laughed, “Sister dearest, I can’t tell you all my secrets! But there is a blackthorn a bit closer – don’t worry about how early I got up. You better get dressed though, Mother and Father are sure to want to see you at breakfast today.”

“It’s my birthday, I should be able to do what I want, what if that means I just don’t get dressed at all?”

“But I want to take you out riding this afternoon, and I can’t imagine it’d be easy to do in a dressing gown, Caitlyn.”

“Fine, but you’re braiding my hair.”

Ciara raised an eyebrow – huh, he should learn to do that – “Milady, wouldn’t a more experienced hairdresser be more appropriate on an important day like today?”

Caitlyn smiled sweetly. “My brother always braids my hair when we go out riding, and he always does a fine job.”

“As you wish, milady. May I ask which dress you would like to wear today?”

“The blue one, with the blackthorn embroideries – they’ll match the flowers in my hair.”

As Ciara bustles off to find the gown, Halt tried (and failed) to raise one eyebrow. “Now I’m braiding flowers into your hair too?”

“Of course, brother dear, it’s my birthday after all!”

He sighed. “Alright then, where’s the brush?”

The other maid bustled in with her brush, comb, and hair ties, and lays them out on a small table near the window. Caitlyn settled herself onto a neat little bench near the table and flicked the long braid she had worn overnight out from under her dressing gown. She turned around and stared at Halt. “Well, come on then, you said it yourself, Mother and Father will want me at breakfast.”

Halt smiled and set to work taking out the long braid and tenderly brushing out his sister’s long, shiny dark brown hair, being careful to gently brush out any tangles and snags without pulling on her scalp. Deftly his hands parted Caitlyn’s hair neatly down the center and braided each side from the nape of her neck up towards the top of her head. When they reached the part, he continued the braid and then neatly affixed it to the inside of the other braid. Reaching into the basket, he pulled out several blackthorn flowers on short stems, and securely tucked them into the braids, giving the hairstyle an ethereal, queenly appearance. “Now, don’t you look a princess?”

Caitlyn grinned and lightly touched her head, feeling the neat, smooth braid and the many sweet-smelling white flowers there. “I do – thank you, brother dear.”

She rose from her chair and gave him a quick hug and a brief peck on the cheek. “Now go tidy up yourself, Ciara will be back soon with my dress and then I’ll be down for breakfast, and you still need to change out of your riding clothes.”

He allowed her to push him out the door and into the corridor. “Alright, alright, alright! Love you, Caitlyn,” he said with a tender smile.

“Love you too, big brother. Now shoo!”


End file.
